19 immigration personnel charged with graft over ‘pastillas scam’

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THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has indicted 19 officials and employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) before the before the Office of the Ombudsman for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged “pastillas scam” that was bared in a Senate inquiry early this year.

Charged by the NBI Special Action Unit were Grifton Medina, Senior Immigration Officer and the acting chief of the Port Operations Division since October 2018; Deon Carlo Abad, Immigration Officer III and the Deputy Terminal chief at NAIA Terminal 1 of the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU); NAIA Duty Immigration supervisor Abdulhapez Dela Tonga Hadjubasher; Gabriel Ernest Mitra Estacio, Immigration Officer II assigned at the arrival and departure area of NAIA Terminal 1; Ralph Ryan Macahilo Garcia, Immigration Officer II assigned at the NAIA Airport Operations Division; Phol Bendana Villanueva, Immigration Officer 1; Abdul Fahad Guro Calaca, Immigration Officer III; Danilo Caro Deudor, Immigration Officer 1; Mark Dollete Macababad, Immigration Officer 1; Aurelio Somera Lucero III, Immigration Officer III and designated as Duty Immigration Supervisor at NAIA; and George Bituin, Immigration Officer III and designated as Duty Immigration Supervisor at the NAIA Port Operations Division.

Also included in the charge sheet were Salahudin Pacalda Hadjinoor, Immigration Officer III; Chevy Chase Reyes Naniong, Immigration Officer II; Jeffrey Dale Salameda Ignacio, Immigration Officer II; Hamza Usudan Pacasum, Immigration Officer 1; Manuel Brilliante Sarmiento III, Immigration Officer II; Cherry Pie Payabyab Ricolcol, Immigration Officer I; ER German Tegio Robin, Senior Immigration Officer and TCEU deputy head for operations; and security guard 2 Fidel Mendoza.

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Mendoza later on became chief of staff of the Bi Port Operations Division. He was allegedly the middle man in the said scheme.

Ignacio was also charged for qualified trafficking in person in violation of the Anti-Human Trafficking law for “recruiting a female Taiwanese citizen to work in the Philippines and facilitating her easy entry into the country despite the fact that she was only holding a tourist visa.”

The NBI said the said Taiwanese national was forcibly transferred to a POGO company which was operating illegally in the country. She was likewise abused by her employer until she was rescued by the bureau last February 3. She testified before the Senate about her experience with Ignacio.

The NBI said the respondent immigration officers “conspired, schemed, confederated, mutually helped and aid(ed) one another in directly and indirectly requesting and receiving money, gifts, and other benefits, including sexual favors, from trafficked foreign women.”

The NBI also charged Liya Wu, identified as the owner of the Manila-based Empire International Travel and Tours, for “allegedly colluding with the said immigration officers” in providing the list of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) workers who will be arriving at NAIA, as well as how much they were willing to pay to be allowed hassle-free entry to the country.

The NBI said 194 POGO workers managed to enter the country through the said scheme from January to March this year.

The BI has yet to issue a comment on the NBI’s case.

The “pastillas scam” was exposed by opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros with the help of immigration officer and whistleblower Allison Chong. The scheme allegedly involved unscrupulous immigration officials who received P10,000 as service fee to facilitate the entry into the country of Chinese nationals, most of them working in POGO outlets.

Last January 22, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra directed the NBI to conduct a case build-up on the alleged involvement of BI officials and employees in human trafficking and escort services.

The BI is one of the attached agencies to the DOJ.

In filing the case, the NBI included as evidence against the respondents the Viber messages presented by Hontiveros during the Senate hearing.

The messages included information on the arrival of Chinese POGO workers at NAIA, video footages of Chinese workers who were escorted from immigration counters and to a room where payments and bribes changed hands.

“They received prior notice of the arrival of these foreigners to facilitate their entry. There was no screening conducted on them,” NBI Special Action Unit Chief Emetrio Donggalo, referring to the indicted officials and personnel.

Donggalo asked the Ombudsman to issue a preventive suspension order against the erring immigration officials and employees.

Meanwhile, the NBI said it was only an initial filing as more respondents will be included in the next batch of cases.

During the Senate hearing, Medina, Deputy Commissioner Tobias Javier and BI Commissioner Jaime Morente denied any knowledge of the scheme.

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